Cumbria Police launch campaign to crackdown on anti-social behaviour over summer months

A campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) over the summer months is being launched by Cumbria Police.

Accounts of real victims of ASB will be shared in the hope that highlighting the impact ASB has on victims will act as a deterrent.

ASB takes many forms and, according to the police, often relates to where people live or work and can have a detrimental effect on local communities.

Examples of ASB can include: noisy behaviour in residential areas, being drunk in a public place, or vandalism and graffiti.

What is anti-social behaviour?

The police categorise ASB into three main categories:

• Personal antisocial behaviour

  When a person targets a specific individual or group.

• Nuisance antisocial behaviour

  When a person causes trouble, annoyance or suffering to a community.

•  Environmental antisocial behaviour

   When a person’s actions affect the wider environment, such as public spaces or buildings.

Cumbria Police's Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT) and Child Centred Policing Teams (CCPT) are working together to deliver the campaign which is focused on the school summer holidays.

During the campaign they will update people about ASB incidents across the county, promote activities that young people can get involved to keep them out of trouble, and signpost those affected to specialist support services.

Superintendent Matt Pearman is the strategic lead for the force's Neighbourhood Policing Team.

He said: “This campaign provides a timely opportunity to highlight the important work officers in two of our departments are doing together, to tackle anti-social behaviour.

"This work can involve police officers responding to issues but a lot of the intelligence and investigative work goes on behind the scenes.

"Where a crime has been committed during an ASB incident, a criminal investigation is launched.  Where appropriate, officers will make arrests and pursue prosecutions”

Child Centred Policing team lead Inspector Gemma Hannah said: "Unfortunately, police deal with ASB incidents committed by both children and adults. It is never acceptable and can have a negative effect on the whole community.

"The intent behind behaviour can vary vastly in children and adults. In order to address anti-social behaviour, we need to consider and understand the underlying reasons behind the behaviour.

She continued: "We work closely with partner agencies including the Youth Offending Service to provide the help and support children need to make positive changes in their behaviour and decision making."

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